Life Starts Now
by MemoriesOfSin
Summary: Throughout all her life, Sakuya Inazuma has been tormented and abused by the residents of the Hidden Cloud village, for caging the Storm Demon called the Ookami within her, her only friend. Can she find love and acceptance with the scarred Jounin Ibiki ?
1. Prologue Part 1

_**A/N: Alright here I am again at last after two years in the waiting I bring you the new revamped version of Love's Redemption now known as Life Starts Now, you guys have been waiting a lot time for this and I'm so sorry for having made you wait, well I'm older and more skilled with my writing so I'm back from a long sojourn and I have found it within me to write again. This is a new year and one of my promises to you will be to update quicker than before. The infamous Prologue for this is done and revised so I would like you to enjoy. Now a few notes this is an Ibiki/OC story which is my own made up character. Her name is Sakuya it used to be Sayuri but I changed it and she is a Jinchuuriki, a demon holder. This Prologue is Sakuya's childhood and also the reason why she is the way she is today and the title for this story is inspired by the song Life Starts Now by Three Days Grace; its Ibiki and Sakuya's anthem. So that's all for now read and enjoy.**_

_**-MemoriesOfSin**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing; Naruto belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto.**_

_**Prologue Part 1 Sakuya's Birth**_

The torrents of rain fell from the blackened sky; thunder rumbled angrily sounding like angry howls, lightning flashed striking the earth making the ground tremble with fear; fear like the villagers of the Hidden Cloud Village felt.

In the distance a woman lying on the muddied ground with long golden blond hair and glittering golden eyes screamed in anguish as the man standing above her tried to perform another sealing jutsu in hopes to contain the so-called violent Storm Demon of the Rokubi.

The six-tailed Storm Demon known as The Ookami.

"Damnit Jiao that's enough there's no way in hell you could seal that demon within an infant's body you're going to end up killing them both!" One of the men that surrounded him shouted over the fury of the storm.

"Shut the hell up all of you I know what I'm doing. If I have to sacrifice the bitch's life along with her with that spawn of a daughter she calls my heir then so be it." Jiao turned on then with a vicious snarl.

Again Jiao took a defensive stance standing over his wife Nikko who looked up at him with wide terror filled eyes.

"Jiao what are you going to do?" her voice trembled with pain and fear.

He looked down at his former wife with narrowed eyes a twisted expression on his face.

"Wait and see my little ray of sunlight."

And with those words he took began to perform the hand seals and chant necessary to seal the demon who was currently creating the vicious storm above them, in obvious pain from the failed attempts at sealing him so far, his howls and snarls of rage and pain could be heard for miles

"**Hakke no Fuuin Shiki - Eight Divination Signs Seal Style!**" he shouted over the high winds of the storm.

Jiao grinned wickedly he had heard of this particular jutsu from one of ninja's who had traveled to Kohonagakure; apparently it was a very powerful jutsu which summoned the Death God Shinigami and in exchange for the soul of another the demon would be sealed away within the host.

The apparition of the Death God appeared behind him.

What Jiao didn't know was that that the Death God didn't just take any soul he took the caster of the jutsu's soul.

The Rokubi screamed as the jutsu started its affect at sealing his soul away he could feel his physical body starting to die, his powers temporarily fading away, although he could not be seen by the citizens because he was still a part of the furious storm. His form could be seen shadowed among illuminated among the clouds as lightning flashed.

The winds carried his howl to the earth shattering the eardrums of the humans below. Lightning now struck the earth repeatedly now scarring the earth in raw, burned patches.

Jiao smirked in triumph of his first successful seal worked, now to ensure that his daughter couldn't one day use the demon's chakra and powers to her advantage he held firm forming the second and what would follow to be the third seal which disrupted the chakra flow of the demon's and final sealing jutsu that would forever seal the Ookami within the small infant.

"**Shishou Fuuin - Four Image Seal." **He shouted as he finished the hand seals; this was the jutsu that allowed the host the privilege of using the demon's chakra with its own.

Now people who knew of this jutsu's power crinkled their brows in confusion.

Why would he want to enable his child with the very thing he was sealing away? But when he started the last formation of hand seals and shouted his last and final jutsu they understood.

"**Gogyou Fuuin - Five Elements Seal!"**

This jutsu used was an odd numbered seal which represented the five elements of earth, fire, metal, water, and wood, when combined with the even number seal of Shishou Fuuin it disrupted the flow of the demon's chakra with the host therefore rendering the host useless.

By now the Storm Demon the Ookami officially made his appearance. He was a sight to behold he stood 50 ft high and was at least the width of two villages combined. The Ookami was a giant wolf with snow white fur and ice blue eyes and at the base of his spine were 6 equally white tails. What appeared to be flowing storm clouds were attacked on each leg just above his massive paws. Dark blue lines and zigzags covered his entire body in a tattoo like pattern; the two main ones were thick solid blue lines running down from eyes to jaw. Wickedly shaped fangs were bared in a snarl of pain and vengeance as he stared down at the villager and the man who had casted the sealing jutsu.

"_**You foolish mortals you have no idea of what you have done, the atrocity you have committed." **_The demon's voice was very deep almost echoing the low decibels capable of booming across the land causing the very earth to shake.

The sealing jutsu was put into effect and the physical body of the Rokubi started to fade gradually until he was little more than a golden glow of light, the light swirled in the air for a moment then shot down directly for Nikko or to be more specific Nikko's unborn child.

Without warning a lightning bolt struck both Nikko and her unborn infant at the same time as the golden light absorbed into Nikko's body engulfing them in a blinding white-gold light.

The villagers had to shield their stinging eyes from the intense unnatural light expecting the smell of burning flesh but when none came, everyone looked up.

Seeing the light fade everyone gasped as Nikko was engulfed in a bright gold chakra filled glow.

"The chakra must be coming from the infant, it couldn't be Nikko hers is to depleted to use, there's no other way." Someone spoke from the crowd.

Nikko screamed in agony clutching her swollen belly as all the force and stress to her body caused her to go in premature labor. Nikko could tell this was going to be quick and painful so she prepared herself and push with all her strength using what was left of her chakra to bring her child into this world.

A wailing cry was emitted, piercing even throughout the torrents of rain as the small infant slide out its small body ending up on the chilly muddied ground. Its tiny body started to shiver violently from the lack of warmth causing her to wail even louder.

An old nurse maid who had been standing among the crowd shuffled over to the wailing sticky bundle lying on the ground; picking it up to lay it in-between its mothers legs.

"It is a girl master." The old nurse maid mumbled holding the small now thoroughly soaked, shivering babe in her arms.

Suddenly out of nowhere a black swirl seal with five symbols appeared around her navel as the seal was finalized but blue markings had also appeared covering the entire length of her body head to foot.

"Bring me the iron bands." Jiao murmured low in his throat. The crowd stilled in a dead silence knowing what was coming next. A small thin man walked over with the five small glowing hot bands held by a medal prong.

Using a cloning jutsu Jiao made a single clone of himself who quickly grabbed the searing hot bands the smell of burning flesh making some of the weak stomached Nins gag and run off to vomit.

Jiao grabbed the small child from in-between Nikko's legs ignoring her protesting cries to spare her tiny daughter; slowly placing the searing hot bands of glowing metal on the child's skin.

One was placed on her neck, followed by two on each of her wrists and ankles. The metal bands seared deep scars in the babies' skin whose golden eyes so similar to her mother's widened in agony letting out an inhuman cry so high that many of the villagers' had to cover their ears.

She was surrounded in a haze of pain, drowning in a sea of it. Her first moments of life already filled with so much misery she wanted to escape, to let go already starting her journey into the next world. She started to let her soul drift into the direction that would take her from this world into the next; but was stopped as she felt a powerful presence surround her.

"_**Shhh… little one I know it hurts. Let me ease the pain for you; I cannot make it completely go away but I can take some of it away." **_A very low, very deep voice seemed to rumble from gently inside the recesses of her mind.

She wasn't sure who it was that spoke but she trusted him enough to rid her of some of the pain. She stilled as white-gold chakra engulfed her small frame causing some of the pain to dissipate.

Everyone gasped in shock as the infant as the white-gold light of chakra surrounded her tiny body taking away the burning flesh smell. The babe's wails quieted down to small whimpers of pain. Jiao let out a scowl of disgust shoving the infant girl in her mother's outstretched arms.

"Take your filthy offspring it is complete the demon is sealed away within her. There is no son to carry on as my heir you and the demon are of no use to me any longer."

Jiao formed a complicated set of hand seals and chants summoning up a special made jutsu that he had created.

Bright kanji marks appeared on the metal bonds sealing the metal shut and causing the white-gold chakra back into the infant's body, which then made the infant go into a series of seizures.

Nikko took her writhing daughter now silent in her arms her fearful eyes looking from the infant to her husband.

"What have you done Jiao what did you do to my daughter!" she shouted angrily.

Jiao laughed.

"It's simple my dear, I took another extra measure to make sure _your _demon doesn't wreak havoc upon the land, you see those bonds are inscribed with an absorbing jutsu so not only does your bitch whelp have the seal but now with the bonds added she can barely used her own chakra, each time any chakra from her is used the bonds will absorb it and she will be punished by having the power turned back in on her making her suffer for it."

Jiao screamed suddenly as a dark purple clawed hand went through his chest into Nikko's.

It was the Death God reaching into both their bodies pulling out their souls into his transparent hand.

Her as the sacrifice; him as the castor.

"NO! NO! Wait please this wasn't supposed to be like this, she was supposed to die not me! I'm a hero why should I have to die for that bi-…" Jiao's words were cut off as the Death God's hand retracted taking with him both the souls of the infant's mother and father.

Everyone finally turned their attention to Nikko who lay on the ground in a pool of her own blood and her soul almost nearly departed from her body. She weakly struggled to keep her head up trying to look to look down at her tiny daughter who seemed to be in a daze from the agony of the bonds. Nikko seemed to be struggling to breathe her last breaths. Nikko was dying, everyone watched the scene unfold silent.

"S-Sakuya, my small lily. I will love you always." And with those final words she took her last dying breath falling still the light fading from her eyes; as her soul was pulled from her body.

Lightning Country had a new legacy: Sakuya Inazuma, cage to the Storm Demon the Ookami.

_**A/N: Well the first part of the first part is completely redone and longer to the next part should be coming up shortly so be patient.**_

_**-MemoriesOfSin**_


	2. Prologue Part 2

_**A/N: I must say I'm quite proud of myself; I have managed to update in a descent amount of time. I'd like to especially dedicate this chapter to Illegitimi and shadrougeforever who were the very first to review and on top of that left such lovely reviews. This one is for you ladies. Anyway welcome to the second part of the four part Prologue. This part is especially long and in here you meet an older Sakuya and you get to see some of the trials and heartache she goes through because she holds the Ookami no Miu inside of her. Luckily for her the demon seems to have taken a liking to her.**_

_**-MemoriesOfSin**_

_**Prologue P**__**art 2 Sakuya at five**_

The Village Hidden in the Clouds was eerily silent, its residents ordered to stay in by the Raikage upon hearing that a violent storm was steadily approaching. Now it being Lightning Country they normally received many storms but this one was coming up upon the village fast.

Roiling black clouds darkened the sky turning late evening into early night. Thunder rumbled angrily off in the distance, lighting streaks veined across the blackened sky.

Doors slammed shut, windows closed and locked tightly, just as the heavens opened, torrents of water pouring to the earth.

A small child who had gotten caught in the downpour ran to try and get home but ended up stumbling and losing his footing. He landed on his knees in the mud, the sharp rocks embedded in the mud left tiny cuts in his skin.

Covered in mud and cuts he started to cry.

The pouring rain seemed to calm; slowing to a steady down pour. The boy became silent; puzzled by this sudden change, and then all of a sudden he heard a faint sound that was barely audible but still there none the less. It got closer and closer now becoming the undeniable sound of footsteps, eerily silent, almost inhuman. The slight figure that approached was shadowed by darkness but as it got closer the boy recoiled in fear.

It was _her_.

The demon girl who held the violent storm wielding demon of the Ookami no Miu within her.

It was said that by using her chakra she could summon huge storms or bend and control lightning to her will. Her mother Nikko had been killed while giving birth to her. She had no known name, only the hate filled names that the villagers constantly spat at her.

She was standing before him now so that he could see every detail of the demon girl.

Her clothing consisted of a ragged and torn t-shirt and knee length shorts, her feet were muddied and bare. Her hair was short and ragged but the color was bright and stark white like the first fallen snow of the year.

He avoided looking into her eyes because it was said that with one look she could beguile and possess a soul. Although, what caught his eye was the glint of the metal bonds sealed into her skin. One sealed on her neck, and two on each wrist and ankles.

Her father has put a special jutsu on those bonds to contain the control of electricity that mixed with the unlimited chakra of the Ookami no Miu and hers that all flowed together in that small body.

"Please d-don't hurt me; I'm s-sorry that I'm in your way." His voice quivered was laced with fear.

"Did you get caught out in the storm?" her voice was soft and husky, smoke curling on wind.

Upon hearing that soft voice the boy seemed to have calmed, his body seizing to tremble. That was when he dared to look at her face.

He gasped.

She was really nothing more than a child herself, her golden eyes glittered holding a silent predatory menace, her facial features were more wolf than human. Dark blue markings that started from underneath her eyes ran in a straight line down her cheeks to stop just below her jaw.

She knelt down in front of him examining his scraped knees.

"These must hurt, hold still and let me heal these." as she finished she formed unknown hand seals with her fingers letting the dull glow of strange golden-white chakra engulf her hands, she gently placed her palms on his knees. The boy felt the pain fade soon replaced by tingling warmth.

He watched in amazement as the cuts disappeared from skin as if they had never existed. He looked at the demon girl-no, not demon, just a young child like him. She was nothing like those horrible names the villagers called her or violent, or cruel. Instead she was gentle and kind.

The girl visibly started to tremble, the golden-white chakra moving from her palms to the bonds on her wrists. The dull metal started to glow brightly, once invisible kanji marks appeared in a startling white light. She stifled a cry of pain falling to her hands and knees, all of her energy suddenly drained.

This was the punishment instilled upon her from birth by her father, taking its effect. The chakra that flowed through her body was unlike anyone else's. Every time she used her chakra, the bonds would activate along with the powerful chakra absorbing jutsu inscribed within the bonds. The jutsu would absorb the powerful flowing mix of her own chakra, the demon's chakra, and the electrical charge of lightning mixed with the two into the bonds; weakening her for a substantial amount of time. Even using the smallest healing jutsu would leave her weakened for hours, sometimes days.

Yes, her father had made sure that she could never wreck havoc upon the land with the soul of a demon, even if it was sealed away within a small child's body. She watched as the seal on her stomach appeared the black swirl with five uneven numbered signs. Somehow on the night when she was born when the lightning had struck her infant body, strange blue permanent tattoo-like marks had appeared all over her body. The two most apparent were the two long blue line on her face; starting from under her eyes, running down her cheeks to disappear beneath her chin.

To her it seemed like hours as she struggled in vain against the effects of the jutsu, but in reality it could have only been a few minutes. When it was finally over she was left trembling gasping for breath, and exhausted, her small body now covered in mud and sweat.

Out of habit she flinched as a small hand hesitantly touched her shoulder. She raised her head to see the young boy on his feet staring down at her, strangely no hate or disgust shown in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" his tone was soft, even filled with concern.

She smiled and nodded, struggling to her feet.

The small boy peered up at her although she was not much taller than him.

"What's your name?"

"I have no name, I was never given one."

He stared at her with astonishment.

"But everyone has a name; didn't your Mom give you one?"

"No, I never knew my mother or father. Although why is it that you are not afraid of me like the other villagers?"

Guilt shown in his eyes.

"Well I was before but you helped me heal my scrapes and you seem really nice. Oh! By the way my name is Ryu."

"Well, Ryu why don't we take you home. Where do you live?" she asked.

Ryu pointed to a small house across from where they were standing. The demon girl took Ryu's hand in her own walking him up to the door; knocking with swift raps.

The door opened top reveal a small, thin, shrewd looking woman with short brown hair glaring down at her. Her gaze shifted from her to her sons' and then to their linked hands.

"Ryu! Where have you been and what are you doing with that monster!"

Ryu looked terrified of his mother but tried to defend his new friend.

"B-But Mom s-he helped m-me when I-I fell and scraped my knees, she used her chakra to h-heal me."

If possible the woman's narrow eyes widened even more with fear.

"You let that demon use its chakra on you!" she shrieked grabbing her son's hand pulling him behind her, she turned and called her husband, who appeared in the doorway his eyes narrowing in anger at the site of the demon spawn standing on his doorstep.

"Go away demon, before we rid this village of you once and for all."

The girl stood there her eyes watering, reflecting golden pools filled with hurt.

"I said get out of here!" he screamed.

Before she could react a hand flew across her cheek, knocking her back a few feet.

She stood there for a moment looking not a the man but a Ryu who was now crying, large tear drops rolling down his cheeks his eyes clearly expressing how sorry he was for letting this happen to his new friend.

The demon girl felt blood starting to drip steadily from her nose and mouth but ignored it as she turned and fled into the safety of the forest.

She ran until she reached what she called home; an underground den hidden by numerous tree branches and heavily leafed bushes. She crawled down the long narrow tunnel that helped blocked out the rain and cold, until the tunnel opened up to a somewhat small room of carved earth and rock. Not large enough for her to stand up fully but long enough to fully lie down comfortably. The girl collapsed in a heap on a large pile of dead leaves that serve as a makeshift bed.

She slipped a small hand under the leaves until her small slender fingertips touched cool metal. Grasping it firmly she pulled on it until it appeared in front of her; a frayed and ripped haitae bearing the symbol of the Hidden Cloud Village on the scratched plate.

Clutching it to her chest in comfort an old calm started to settle upon her, so that she was able to ignore the sting of her bruised cheek, bloodied nose, and split lip.

It had belonged to her mother, who had worn it proudly, right up until the day she died. Her mother had been a high ranking jounin, the best in the village some had said.

Until she had been forced to marry Jiao Inazuma- her father, an evil cruel man who had wanted an heir to his clan to carry on the Inazuma name. One of the strongest clans in the Cloud Village, but as fate would have it instead of a son he had gotten a daughter. With no name, who carried a wolf demon within her.

Lucky for him he hadn't been around long enough to see what she was today; killed by the very jutsu that had sealed the demon within her.

To be honest she wasn't sorry in the least.

Her father's old nurse maid; the only one who had taken care of her as an infant because no one else would do it had sought her out slipping it into her palm just as she had died.

Ever since that time she had made a promise to herself.

To get the hell out of Lightning Country, to become a jounin possibly even ANBU one day. To have people respect her because in her heart she knew that no one would love her or could come to care about one who contained a demon within them. So if respect was all she could get so be it.

All thoughts were lost as she stilled, feeling another presence come to awaken within her, knowing it was the demon waking up. Somehow she had formed a bond with him growing up in her for five years alone. The demon wolf had connected with her, with him being the only thing in her life thus far.

In a way she felt as if he was all she needed, her friend, brother, maybe even a little bit of a father figure.

"_**What happened cub? I can feel your pain.**_" As he spoke his voice rumbled lazily like thunder,

"Nothing Kami-chan." She whispered softly as she endeared him by the nickname she'd come to know him by.

"_**Don't keep secrets from me cub you know I see what you see through your eyes and feel what you feel through your heart. Even though I did not see what occurred tonight I can still feel the pain it caused you.**_"

She smiled knowing he was always right.

"One of the villagers called me names, and struck me, nothing I'm not used to."

She stilled as a vicious growl reverberated within the wall of her mind.

"Really Kami-chan its okay, I'm used to it."

"_**That may be so cub, but you have never done anything to deserve the harsh treatment you get, it's because you carry me within you**_."

"I know but I don't mind, I'd rather be with you than them. You're my only friend Kami-chan."

He was silent for a long time, she knew what was coming.

"_**The bonds activated again didn't they**_."

"Yes." She replied quietly, starting to feel the creeping exhaustion settle into her bones and spirit.

"_**I curse the day your father burned them into you're flesh. They are no good for you; they only make you vulnerable and cause you pain. Yet, I have not figured out how to reverse the absorbing jutsu he inscribed within them.**_" He went silent again.

Then she asked him a question that made him paused for a moment.

"Kami-chan do you know my real name, not my last but my first name. I already know my last name."

He was quiet, seemingly startled by this out of the blue question.

"_**Why do you ask me this cub?**_"

"Because of this boy I helped heal. He asked me my name and when I told him I didn't have a name he seemed shocked. He told me everyone has a name. I don't know, I never really thought about it before but now I'm curious."

He became silent for a long time thinking it over carefully.

He began.

"_**Right when I was sealed inside of you I heard the voice of a female, your mother, it was hard to tell what she was saying. I knew she was dying but before she died she whispered one final sentence.**_"

Breathless she asked, "What was it?"

"_**Your name is...Sakuya; she called you her small lily**_."

_Sakuya..._

So she had a name now at least.

And it was Sakuya.

"Thank you Kami-chan."

"_**Your welcome cub...Sakuya**_." he whispered before he slipped back into slumber the same time as Sakuya drifted off to sleep, feeling as if she had gotten back a little part of her humanity.

_**A/N: So here's the second part of th**__**e Prologue, I felt good at the fact that I was able to make Sakuya a little happy, for a while at least. But I warn you folks this Prologue is not a happy one, but that's how Sakuya learns to survive through heartache and loneliness. But when the first chapter starts she begins to learn about human bonds and affection and since it's her first time knowing such a good yet strange feeling it makes it all the more worth it in the end. Anyway R and R, people. Much Love.**_

_**A/N 2: For any of those who are confused her last name Inazuma means "lightning", can we talk about irony. Ookami no Miu literally means six-tailed wolf, and sometimes I refer to him as Rokubi; I know that's the name for the other six-tailed beast but I like it so I'm borrowing it. And Sakuya means "blossoming night". I thought it sounded pretty so I picked that name. Well until next time.**_

_**-MemoriesOfSin**_


	3. Prologue Part 3

_**A/N: Welcome back to Part 3 of my Prologue, it's been relatively quick that I have updated but I'm tired of not progressing because I have such awesome ideas for this story and plus we all know Ibiki deserves some love so that's why I'm trying to work hard so he can meet his lady love Sakuya. But we still have to get through this Prologue so you can understand appreciate Sakuya to the fullest extent and let's face it people it makes it all the more emotionally sweeter in the end.**_

_**Dedications: This chapter and whole story is dedicated to Illegitimi, for her love of Ibiki and her dedication to stick with me through this story. **_

_**-MemoriesOfSin**_

_**Prologue Part 3 Sakuya at eight**_

Her bare feet moved swiftly and silently over the dead leaves and branches with an inhuman grace. Sakuya's glittering gold eyes were wide with fear. It traveled all the way down into her chest lacing within her heart, burning through her veins like fire.

_He_ was back again.

The slave merchant known as Nobu Shindoma; to everyone he was just another harmless weapon seller. But she knew the truth, about the real trade he was into; the selling of female slaves to rich nobles and feudal lords.

Her memory of the slave trader's dark secret had been witnessed firsthand only months before when she had been out on a normal run in the woods.

Watching from the safety of shadowed trees Sakuya could only helplessly look on as the young girls, barely women themselves, struggled, screamed, and begged to be set free. Sakuya and the women were both very aware of their fate.

Today he was back in the Hidden Cloud Village on business. He was looking for something new, something _exotic_.

He wanted _her_.

He had caught sight of her a few months ago, unaware of another's chakra signature in the forest; besides hers; she had been out running enjoying the cool winter night.

By the time she had been aware someone was following her; it had been too late, she had found herself cornered against a tree by a haggard looking man.

Probably in his late 50's the man was lanky and tall, a scarred, pocket marked face, bulging eyes, a bulbous nose, and very little hair on his head. He had appeared before her, startling her, causing her to crash into a tree.

The way he had looked at her made her flesh crawl. Those bulging eyes examining her flat-chested curve less eight year old form like she was a piece of meat. She could still hear the lust filled whisper of his words.

"Such an _exotic_ creature you are. Very much unlike any of those other plain slaves, I've ever owned. You will be mine sooner than you expect."

Furious by his words she'd unsheathed her claws ready to lunge forward and wipe his pathetic existence from this earth, but just as quickly as he'd come he was gone. She couldn't even sense his chakra signature, almost as if he had never been there.

Ever since that incident Sakuya no longer felt at ease in the forest. Not even when she slept safely underground in her den, not even with Kami-chan within her. Now she was running like a coward to hide back in her hole in the ground.

Hopefully she had gotten far away enough so that he did not sense her unique chakra signature.

As soon as her home was in sight she practically dove down into the narrow tunnel, scrambling down into her bed of dead leaves.

She shivered violently as the chilling wind of the fading winter harshly blew down the tunnel into her small den, hitting her pale skin. For the first time in her life she openly let fear engulf her whole being. Not even Kami-chan could keep her safe from Nobu's clutches, not for long even with an all powerful demon inside her; there wasn't much he could do when he was sealed away in a cage within her.

As the wind grew faint she heard a quiet growl, a deadly promise.

_**"He **__will __**regret it if he ever touches even one part of you."**_

Sakuya said nothing drowning deep in her thoughts; a feeling of unsettling dread set deep into her heart, knowing her days of freedom were going to coming to an end.

* * *

Evening had settled in the Hidden Cloud Village most of its residents settled in for the night. Only a few dared to enter the streets, the ones who worked in the darker side of business. One of these men slinked silently over to the Sake House which could currently be heard with the roaring laughter of drunken nin.

Upon opening the door the man was met with a startling silence. They all knew who he was and what kind of business he ran, and by coming here tonight they knew he was looking to do some trading for human female flesh.

One of the nins stood up and walked over saying, "How may we help you Nobu-sama?"

"I'm seeking to make a purchase from one of you on a small female with white hair and eyes of gold." The whole room seemed to stiffened, everyone suddenly becoming silent, unresponsive. The shinobi before him looked uneasy.

"Nobu-sama, why would you want Jiao and Nikko's child? She acts more like an animal than human. Perhaps…" the nin silenced as Nobu took out a kunai and sliced his throat wide open from ear to ear, blood gushing from the wound. Bright ruby red drops sprayed all over Nobu, the surrounding tables, and the floor. The nin tried to speak but all that came was a sickening gurgling sound as he clutched his hands to his throat and fell to the floor dying slowly from choking on his own blood.

No one made a move or a sound, they knew never to try and persuade him otherwise. Once he was set on obtaining something he wanted he would eventually get it, using any method to get it.

Nobu looked down at the writhing shinobi on the floor; who looked back up at him with wide terror filled eyes. Nobu scowled seeing this as a sign of disrespect.

Quicker than anyone can see Nobu took the now bloody kunai in his hand bringing it down into the shinobi's unsuspecting ribcage, dragging it from his chest to the soft lower skin of his belly, _painfully_ slow.

The next horrific act caused even the strongest shinobi to bend over and become sick.

Nobu slowly dropped the kunai onto the wood floor with a dull thunk. Reaching one wrinkled, knobby hand down he pushed his hand into the gaping wound slowly moving his hand around inside the now gurgling shinobi's stomach, seemingly searching for something.

Once he seemed to have found what he had been looking for Nobu tightened his hand slowly pulling it out of the wound, pulling out….the _intestines _of the dying shinobi. He stood in a flash rapidly removing all of the intestines with one swift yank, then throwing them down onto the face of the now dead shinobi.

Acting as if nothing had happened, Nobu walked over to one of the tables where most of the Jounin's were seated; sitting down easily as if he just hadn't casually slit a man's throat, gutted him, and ripped out his entrails. For a moment none of the Jounin's said a word all of them staring wide eyed at Nobu who stared back with an even easier smile. They all realized that they were staring and quickly put one neutral faces, all of them terrified of making the slave trader angry.

"Come, come now you act like you haven't seen someone killed before, you are all Jounin the death dealers of your village, you and death walk side by side."

He held up a hand motioning for the bartender's attention.

"A whole round of Sake and Souchu on me."

The bartender nodded and started to distribute the drinks with Nobu being the first to be served of course.

Still that did nothing to loosen the men.

"I've come here on business for that child; now how much would you want for her. Does she have a mother or father that has to be dealt with?"

One of the older Jounin spoke up.

"Nobu-sama, the girl of which you speak is…_different_."

"How so?"

"You know of the six-tailed wolf demon the Miu no Ookami that appeared eight years before."

"Yes. I've heard of him, he was sealed in a girl-child who was born on that day."

"Well that girl you want is the demon vessel for the Miu no Ookami, she cages him within her. Her father Jiao sacrificed his life for his village, her mother Nikko died giving birth to her."

"It matters not, the wilder she is the more easily broken and tamed she will be, how much?"

The whole room of ninja's looked at him in awe.

They all bowed their heads in deep respect.

"For you Nobu-sama nothing, she is free, you honor us by finally ridding this village of that demon."

Nobu finished his Sake and stood nodding.

"Very well, I will be back in two years time to collect her."

He chuckled as he walked out of the Sake House to his wagon.

_'Stupid fools, they do not know true beauty when it is right in front of them_.' He thought to himself.

No creature he had seen in the world was as exotic and beautiful as she was wild. Yes, there was work to be done on her haggard appearance and the breaking and the taming of her would be an interesting challenge, but not much more than that.

_God._

He was becoming hard just thinking about his exotic Jinchuuriki girl. Hair the color of the first fallen snow of the year, eyes large pools of molten gold. He rubbed himself groaning, imagining how she would develop over the next two years, of how she would feel under him writhing and moaning as he thrust into her over and over until he spilt his seed into her, as she screamed as she came calling out his name in ecstasy.

But then of course….there was always the other way. With her underneath of him; wrists tied to a rung attached to the wall. She would be struggling and crying for stop begging for him not to touch her in that terrified and fearful tone that made her sound all the more sweeter. He would go into her oh so slowly…taking his time to slice her open for that very first time. She would scream in absolute agony feeling as if he was ripping her apart. Her tears and moans and whimpers of pain would be that slight edge he needed to reach the pinnacle of ecstasy.

Nobu stood there sight quickening the pace of rubbing his cock through the well worn material of his pants until he came with a groan, the evidence of his arousal now a dark stain on the front of his pants.

He grinned.

In two years time she would be his. Until then he would prepare for one with that much unlimited chakra.

She would be _his._

_**A/N: So this was quite an interesting chapter to say the least; and not in a good way. Nobu is quite a character isn't he? I'm sorry if I made him solely to hurt Sakuya but the damage he does to her, like it or not, is an important part of how Sakuya is when she meets Ibiki, and the understanding that they both can relate to and the healing that they both go through together. Well don't worry he will get his fair share of suffering much later on in the story, but for now unfortunately he will stick around for while. I really hate him to. And just to warn you it's about to get much worse from here on out. Bear with me. Remember R and R. Much Love.**_

_**-MemoriesOfSin**_


	4. Prologue Part 4

_**A/N: Well here is the last and final part of the Prologue of Sakuya's childhood and like I said in the last chapter this is not a happy one. Many of you will pull a tissue out for the ending to this…or throwing something at me. But fear not the Prologue was actually the hardest part for me to get over these past two years so it should get better slowly from after this point. In the next chapter you lucky folks will finally get to meet Ibiki and Sakuya as a young woman. **_

_**-MemoriesOfSin **_

_**Dedications: Illegitimi; thank you so much girl, all of your endless support has been wonderful, this is my thanx to you, Memmi, and shadrougeforever; my closest friend and author**_

_**Prologue Part 4 Sakuya age ten**_

_"Kami-chan! Help me please, Kami-chan!"_ Sakuya screamed in the throes of her mind.

Inside of her she could hear his snarls and cries of rage and anguish.

She struggled in Nobu's vice like grip upon her shoulders, dragging her off to his wagon. The whole Hidden Cloud Village watching with mixed expressions of hate, amusement, and most of all relief of having the village rid of the demon.

Then it finally hit her in a crushing blow.

So this was why the villagers had been acting differently toward her these past two years. Ignoring her acting as if she'd never existed, being able to walk into the village without being beaten or insulted; in fact most people had been wary to stay around her.

They truly did hate her; their hatred ran so deep they had never given a second thought about giving her over to Nobu. Now she understood the unlimited source of hatred they really harbored for her, and the only reason was for being different, for being a monster.

This realization made her body go limp with surrender. Nobu noticed this, sadistically grinning in triumph, continuing to drag her now limp form to the open doors of his wagon.

_**"Fight Sakuya! Fight them, the whole fucking village don't stop until the village runs red with their **__blood__**!"**_ his voice wasn't soft or gentle; like before but enraged and filled with bloodlust, so this was what a demon was really like. A mask of kindness ripped off to reveal the hungry and malicious creature that lurked beneath.

Sakuya felt a wave of anguish cut through her heart from Kami-chan. She knew she had hurt him with her thoughts.

_"I'm sorry, Kami-chan, I know you're not like that with me. I won't fight them, they were right all along, I've just denied it, I'm a monster. I don't know the first thing about being human." _She gently crooned to him.

_**"NOOOOO!"**_ his thunderous voice roared inside her head making her wince.

_**"Never even think of giving in to these pathetic, no you're not normal you hold the true monster within you……ME! Let me out just this **__once__**; let me show them what a true demon's wrath can invoke. You will never last long in life if you decide to let these pathetic human emotions rule you! Let go of that side. Follow your instincts; you've ignored them for too long. Let go…let me take over for you…"**_ his voice was rough, with an almost hypnotic like tone.

_" Kami-chan you know I can't, with these bonds there is no way to access your chakra or even mine."_ She stated trying to convince him it was no use.

It wasn't that she didn't want to let him take over for her quite the opposite actually but if she released even the tiniest amount of chakra the bonds would activate and she wouldn't even be able to fight back.

_**"Cub…there is one way..but with humans it is absolutely forbidden for a Jinchuuriki to do this with its demon host but in this situation I see no other way."**_

_"What are you trying to say Kami-chan?" _she asked in curiosity.

_**" Now before you make this choice I must warn you, once you agree to go through this process it is permanent. I can slow the process down so it can be done in stages until the final merging is complete, but no more than that. Do you understand what I am trying to say Sakuya?" **_his thunderous voice was careful and measured as if she might refuse him at the slightest chance.

_"What does this process involve Kami-chan, and what do I need to do?"_

_**" To put it in simple terms it is the merging of our souls, even though my soul is caged within you, you still have the separate human soul you were born with. If you agree to the merging, my soul and yours would slowly intertwine into one individual soul. The cage would still figuratively be in place but the merging grants me free reign to take over your mind and body if there is need, just like you get unlimited access to all of my chakra and powers. You see I am not really a demon in a sense; but I am a Storm God. One that has been watching over this land for far longer than most have been alive on this earth. Cub… I would never control you without your consent and only if it was absolutely needed. But the one thing you must know that once this is done there is no going back, our souls will be one and if anything would ever happen that causes my soul to die you would instantly die with me. This is why I am asking you to choose carefully."**_

Sakuya considered all of what Kami-chan had told herbut in the end no matter what the situation she would have said yes either way.

They would always be a part of each other, with or without the merging.

_"Kami-chan, my answer is yes, even though the answer would have always been yes. You are my dearest friend; and you will always be a part of me for better or for worse no matter what, I just needed you to know that I love you, we are in this together always."_

Sakuya found herself standing in a dimmed room with dark swirling red mist before a huge cage with golden bars, from floor to roof; a single lock in the middle held the gates locked together. Inside was the Miu no Ookami, who stared back at her with glittering ice blue yes. His fanged grin split from ear to ear.

_**"Welcome to my prison cub…I thank you for your choice it is not a choice most mortals would make but you are different, you are very special…and I love you too cub no matter what I will always watch over you and protect you… always know that. I am beginning the process, you might feel odd at first." **_

Sakuya felt lightheaded at first as a golden-white mist wrapped around her entire form. It felt as if her soul was leaving her body but in truth she knew that wasn't the case. Her feet left the ground as she floated in the middle of the dark room.

Suddenly she felt Kami-chan's presence even more than before and knew it to be his soul starting to intertwine with hers.

_"Kami-chan I want you to do this in stages, don't merge your soul completely with mine just yet, I know it would be best to do it all right now but, I have my reasons."_

_**"As you wish cub…"**_

Sakuya continued to float in the air as Kami-chan continued to merge their souls together. She smiled for the first time in years as she felt the two halves of their souls begin the long process of becoming whole and it was like coming home. Sakuya started to feel lethargic; her eyelids grew heavy as the urge to sleep overcame her. Before the conscious half of her soul succumbed to sleep she heard Kami-chan's voice croon in her ear.

_**"Sleep Sakuya…sleep the slumber of the dreamless… rest well cub."**_

Her normal chakra signature was laced with a flood of the Ookami's chakra, it was addicting like a drug running through her veins. Lulling, soothing, it lured Sakuya down in the dark warm abyss of sleep deep within the recesses of her mind as her Kami-chan took all of the pain away…

The jutsu inscribed in bonds couldn't activate because of the sudden massive flood of powerful chakra coming from the Ookami that was filled with such hatred and rage.

Even though apart of her was asleep deep in the recesses of her mind, another part of Sakuya was still able to see and feel what was going on because her soul was now merged with her Kami-chan.

She was well aware of the process of merging between a demon vessel and its caged soul; she had heard the tales of the travelers who also had demon vessels living in their own villages. About how they had let their demon spirit within them merge fully with their own souls. She had just allowed him to have a part of hers; she still wasn't sure if she wanted to give all of her soul over to him just yet. It wasn't that she was afraid or didn't trust him; oh she couldn't wait until they became fully merged.

Right now she knew that the next few years were going to be hell for her and she wanted to keep Kami-chan as far away from all of the pain and suffering as possible. One day when she was free; and able to start healing would she then let him finally merge with the rest of her soul with his.

Until then this had to be enough.

Her teeth suddenly felt to sharp; as her gums split allowing her canines to lengthen, cutting into her bottom lip. Her nails lengthened into curved razor sharp claws the clear color of the nails darkening to black. Pupil less eyes suddenly had them but instead of normal dots they were vertical slivers of black. She could feel pain lacing down her back to the base of her spine, and the top of her head hurt also.

What she didn't see was the six fluffy white tails that were suddenly growing out of skin on her lower back, or the equally snow white wolf ears growing out of her head. The tattoos all over her body were glowing an eerie dark blue.

"**Bastards! Now you will know what it feels like to invoke the wrath of a true demon!" **her voice was no longer her own but a mix of hers and the Ookami's merged together as they roared out to the villagers.

As all of this was occurring on the ground no one had yet noticed that above in the sunny sky; enormous black storm clouds had started rolling in from nowhere. The sun struggled to stay shining as it was wholly engulfed by the enormous clouds its weak rays of light gave up the fight as the clouds set firmly in place.

The villagers finally noticed that the bright sunny day was suddenly gone and in its place there where suddenly large black clouds. Thunder roared above their heads loud enough to violently shake the ground below their feet. Stray bolts of lightning struck the earth dangerously close to them so trees that happen to get hit fell around them. The wind picked up from nowhere with such force and speed that the adults had to grab their offspring in fear of them being swept away by the gushing torrents.

The villagers ran in screaming in terror all them remembering a similar scene ten years ago when the storm demon was first sealed away, now once again they would have to face the wrath of that very same demon in the body of a child no less. Chuunins and Jounins nearby gathered close to the demon pulling out a variety of weapons. Kunais, Shurikens, and Senbons ready and waiting to once again face the demon they had locked away ten years before.

"Stop!" Nobu roared to the advancing nins.

He'd been expecting this; so the girl had a bond with the demon caged inside her. Well, he had a way to put a stop to that.

Nobu pulled out a normal worn looking black whip, from behind him and started to let a steady flow of his chakra gather in his hand and travel throughout the whip until it was glowing an eerie blue color the same color as his chakra. Stepping away from his next prize he raised the whip above his head, letting it gain momentum for a moment before bring it back down across the wolf girl's back. The cut made by the chakra induced whip cut down straight through flesh, tearing through muscle to the bone.

At first Sakuya couldn't feel the blow bestowed upon her back, dismissing it at first as an occurrence, that it until a minor burn started to spread across her back where the whip had cut into her flesh. The burning sensation was nothing more than a minor irritation at first that was until it started to build. The pain got to be too much for her to handle and the part of her that had been currently slumbering came awake with a jolt.

In an instant it was like she was thrown fully back into reality; the searing pain a like a sledgehammer on her back throbbing in time with her accelerating heartbeat.

She howled in agony.

"_**What's wrong Sakuya!?"**_ asked the Ookami as he watched his host and friend writhe in agony. What the Ookami didn't understand was that the agonizing pain she felt was still building; the pain only growing more uncontrollable by the minute. Still being in control and with all that emotion filled chakra; he hardly felt anything.

"O-on m-my back…" she started to pant as the pain steadily grew.

Turning Sakuya's head to face her back he saw the large bloodied gash cut to the bone going down the whole length of her back. He looked up at the man who had caused her this pain to see the chakra induced whip and put two and two together.

Nobu's eyes were aflame with satisfaction.

"So Ookami are you going to stop this little tantrum or shall I do more damage to your precious host?" he purred slightly as he brought the whip down again adding another bone deep gash; this one criss-crossing the other. Blood was gushing from the wounds in floods down her narrow back.

Sakuya screamed in pain falling down to her knees.

The Ookami snarled in anguish and defeat knowing there was nothing more he could do for his cub unless he wished to have her hurt more. Instantly he relinquished his control over her. Slowly the raging storm subsided so that once again the sun was shining and the wind was gone as if it had never been.

Sakuya knew it was over, the pain overtook her so she fell tiredly to the ground on her side, wrapping her small arms around herself to brace against the pain in a failing attempt.

"Now my dear, shall we go this time without a fight or do you want more of your first shinobi scars?"

By this time her chakra levels had drained enough for the bonds to activate restricting both hers and Kami-chan's chakra, it was over, they had lost.

"I'll go but I will _never_ surrender to you." The words were spoken in a painfully-quiet but strong tone as Sakuya clutched her mother's hiati-ate which was tied around her small waist.

"That i-is my nindo; my ninja way…"

Nobu laughed.

"Dying dreams girl, soon to fade and turn into ashes. No matter how many years it takes I will break you using _whatever_ method it takes."

He took out a pair of specially made chakra shackles, attaching it first to one of her small wrists, then wrenching her painfully thin arm behind her back taking enjoyment in her small cry of pain, and then attaching it to the other wrist; binding them tightly together.

He then grabbed Sakuya by the hair and threw her into the back of his wagon. The doors were slammed shut and were set in placed with a chakra sealed lock.

Using what little strength she had left Sakuya dragged herself; using her shoulders over to the side of the wagon leaning on her side, wincing as the wounds on her back were disturbed.

Helplessly she asked, "What's going to happen to us now Kami-chan?"

For once he sounded unsure and almost afraid even.

"_**I don't know cub, I don't know…"**_

_**A/N: Damn! I depress even myself sometimes, it was really hard to write Sakuya's defeat and capture but it was necessary for the plot. Now a time skip is coming up next chapter so be ready to meet teen Sakuya and of course the lovely Ibiki. Oh and if you're wondering no I didn't make her out to be a neko, so don't ask, I believe all Jinchuuriki should embody their demon's somehow; (Hence Naruto and the whiskers on his face.) Well onward to the real story now people, until next time. Remember R and R ;it lets me know you like this story. Much Love.**_

_**-MemoriesOfSin**_


	5. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Well, well back so soon my pretties; let's face it you're a slave to my story. "Laughs" just kidding but I really hope you do like it, I am trying very hard to get these first few chapters off the ground. Anyway updating the last part of the Prologue was a treat to all of you because of the wonderful responses I have gotten so far. I planned to come back stronger than ever this year but I had no idea **__any__** of you would take this story to such great levels. Thank you all so much. Ok so in this chapter you meet Ibiki and Sakuya as a teenager but they don't actually meet face to face until next chapter. Welcome back to Life Starts Now. Here we go onward to Chapter One.**_

_**Important Note: This chapter was originally one whole piece but due to the importance of the first part and my damn work schedule it was decided that I would be splitting this chapter into two parts.**_

_**Warning: This contains explicit details of torture and rape so if this is not your cup of tea I would advise against reading this, but if you can stomach this by all means enjoy.**_

_** -MemoriesOfSin**_

_**Dedications: Illegitimi, Memmi, and of course my darling shadrougeforever.**_

_**Chapter 1 Of Nightmares and Freedom (7 years later) Part 1**_

_ The cell was dark and very cold; it was underground in one of the enemy Rock nin's base. They had captured him weeks ago, but it felt it like he had been here for years. In this dark, cold place time seemed to drag on, in this hell that was currently his home; time crawled by like years. _

_ He was currently in an upright position against the far left wall in his cell; his wrists were chained high above him attached to a rung hanging from the ceiling. He couldn't feel them any longer having been hanging that way for so many hours; he had lost all of the feeling in his arms. _

_ If you looked at it, it probably was best. At least he couldn't feel the severe pain of the numerous infections within the festering wounds on his arms. Sadly that wasn't the case for the rest of his body; which throbbed in constant pain in time with his heart; all of the cuts that littered his body were badly infected. The pain was severe, but he had grown used to the pain and now it was just a dull reminder in the background. _

_ It was the smell that drove him crazy, the weeks without the relief of having a bath, or at least some kind of water thrown on him. Dirt was caked to his skin, literally half an inch thick, the bacteria had gotten into the cuts which was what had caused all of the infection. That and the fact that he was covered in his own filth from not being allowed to use the restroom; which still made his skin crawl. His hair was rock hard matted with dried blood and dirt, the once shining brown tresses, shined no more._

_ The smell at first caused him to be sick all over himself, but not in front of the enemy, never in front of them. Now it was the constant rotting smell coming from inside, the pus oozing wounds that covered his entire body. After all these weeks it still never failed to make him gag. But he had no more to vomit up except the yellowish bile of his stomach fluids._

_ That's how they had started trying to break him down was the denying of basic needs; such as food and water and of course the refusal of bathroom rights. After about a week of starving him and barely giving him enough water to stay alive and letting him get covered in his own filth, they figured out he wasn't going to crack so it was onward to the heavier stuff. _

_ Next it was the start of making small incisions on his body. They had stripped him of his clothes so he was completely naked. They had taken objects such as kunai's and surgical knives and every time he refused to speak they would cut him; in different places all over his body. The more he angered them the deeper the cuts became. After that proved not to work they started adding things into the wounds such as salt or dirt or piss. _

_ Even though the pain was beyond human endurance and any normal person would be screaming in mindless agony by know, he remained like a lifeless doll. Still standing, still chained up to the wall. No sound, no movement and no expression ever crossed his face; not _once_. No matter how much it hurt he couldn't break, he was loyal to his village, he would die protecting his village, he would not disgrace himself and everything he held dear by breaking down and giving these Rock nin what they wanted; information._

_ When cutting him up failed they resorted to _other _methods. They had finally unchained him from the wall letting him fall hard to the cold stone floor, wrist still bound. The impact hurt; aggravated his cuts and further covered him in his own shit and piss. But still he did not utter a sound, ever the lifeless doll. _

_ Being smart he allowed himself a few moments of rest before he heard the door open. He looked up to see a table being drug in. It was placed in the middle of the small cell room and with that he was hauled up and thrown stomach down on the table. One nin grabbed his bound wrists attaching them to chains diagonally crossing at the upper edges of the table. He was roughly pulled down until his legs were just hanging over the edge at the other end of the table. His legs were spread exposing him in a very intimate way._

_ His thighs were chained to the legs of the table and so were his calves. It happened so fast he had no time to prepare himself mentally or physically. Something large and hard was swiftly buried deep inside of his body, and before he knew it he screamed; his voice hoarse from weeks of disuse. The nins doing this to him laughed before it started all over again. His body was not prepared for such a harsh invasion, his virgin passage was torn wide open as the thick cock inside him moved fast and short with no signs of stopping. The muscles of his inner walls were badly torn and he was bleeding heavily, the hot liquid steadily dripping out of his passage onto the Rock shinobi that was raping him and onto the dirty floor._

_ He moaned in pain, weakly pulling at his chained wrists in what was a futile attempt at escape. The Rock nin at his head laughed at struck a fist across his face, making him see stars. The other Rock shinobi continued to mercilessly pound into his unwilling body, his insides by now were covered in blood making the passing of the thick cock inside of him pass easier in and out. His insides felt like they were on fire, it stung so bad, he was starting to become numb inside his, body was shutting down. _

_ By now he had stopped screaming and thrashing and lay still and lifeless bent over, chained to the table, just letting himself be fucked into unconsciousness, to anyone looking his once bright obsidian eyes so full of life were now dull and dead. No signs of life were visible outwardly but inside…._

_ Inside he was screaming and screaming and screaming, but no one could hear him…why wouldn't they help him…. _

_ After that something inside him had broken. He wasn't sure completely what it was but he undoubtfully knew it was broken. Not in the literal sense; sure his insides were torn to hell, those kind of wounds, he knew, wouldn't heal on their own. But it was something inside his soul that was irreparably broken. Even after the Rock shinobi had finished raping him by shuddering and spilling his seed inside his captive, they still received no reaction from him._

_ He had retreated inside his head after that for a long time, so long in fact that when he had awoke next he found himself back in his upright position on the wall. His wrists back to being chained high above his head and this time he could feel the ache in his head where the Rock nin had hit him. He also felt a steady trickling of warm thick liquid, dripping from his insides, down the wall and onto the floor._

_ Carefully he looked down assessing the damage only to find himself standing in a large pool of his own blood; his feet were unconsciously slipping in the warm sticky liquid so that it felt like he was constantly losing his balance. _

_ He knew he wouldn't last much longer at this rate. Surely they were getting tired of trying to get information out of him when they obviously couldn't. Sooner or later they would eventually give up and end his life; end the pathetic shell of a man he had become. _

_The truth is though he wasn't sure whether he wanted to die or not. His body was teetering precariously close to the edge of shutting down and calling it quits. But his mind was still as sharp as the day he was captured always thinking, always managing to convince himself just enough to stay alive, for another minute, another hour, maybe even another day._

_But he knew there would come a time when even his constant convincing would fail and he would die, either from his captors or from the massive trauma and infection in his body. The only comforting fact was that he could die knowing he had done his duty to his village, knowing that he wouldn't die in vain or die as a traitor._

_There were also many things he would die regretting, such as not trying hard enough to keep his younger brother Idate around. There are so many things he wished he could have done to keep his younger sibling in the village but in the end he had slipped away. All of his other family members were dead so Idate was all he had. The one other thing he dearly regretted was never having enjoyed life more._

_He had always taken the simple things for granted. Now he wished he could be outside in a forest somewhere far away just enjoying the feel of the cool grass under his feet; or closing his eyes and letting his head tilt towards the sky just to feel the slight breeze ruffle and tease his short brown hair, or just simply letting the rain, drench through his soaked clothes to his hot fevered skin underneath, cooling it just enough to soothe him for awhile._

_Even though he knew he would never be granted that now at least he had those images in his memories, just like Idate, as long as he had his memories, he could at least die somewhat content…_

_The sound of a door slamming open startled him out of his half state of sleep he had managed to lull himself into. _

_Quickly forcing himself into awareness he looked up only to look up directly into the face of one of his tormentors; but it wasn't the look on their faces that sent his heart racing in his chest but the hammer and large five inch nail in the Rock nin's hand. _

_The Rock nin grinned as he saw the prisoner look at what he had in his hands._

"_Well it seems we tried everything to get you to talk, we even got a little bonus getting to plow that sweet little ass of yours but I'm afraid we've waited as long as we obtain the information from you so we're going to have to step measures up just a bit." He purred._

_He braced himself as the Rock nin brought the nail up and brushed the tip barely against his scalp. _

"_Now I'll give you one last chance you tell us what we on to know about your precious little Konohakagure and I won't drive this nail deep into your fucking skull." Even as the Rock nin ground out the words, he could feel the tip of the nail dig painfully into his head._

_Even knowing what was going to happen if he didn't say anything, he still stood there absolutely still, staring his tormenter's in the eye for all he was worth._

_He was not a traitor….He was not a traitor…Not a traitor…Not a traitor…_

_He kept this chant in his head even as the Rock shinobi raised the hammer up and brought it down on the nail. Even as the pain was like a starburst in his brain, going through every nerve, setting everything in its path on fire. Blood spurted all over everything, on the Rock nin's hand, it ran down his face in rivers causing the two large gashes on his face to sting even more. _

"_Now I'll ask one more time…."_

_I'm not a traitor….I'm not a traitor…I am _not_ a traitor…._

_As the nail was placed in a different spot on his head and the hammer was brought down again he kept repeating the chant just trying to hold on. By now blood was everywhere, splattered on the walls, on his captor's and all over himself. As the process was repeat several times the chant in his mind never faltered even as he started to choke and gag on his own blood. His vision was dimming, the pain was fading, and he was being taken far away into a world where there was no pain, no infections, and most of all no coldness, he was free._

_Before he passed out he smiled just a bit, a subtle twitch of facial muscles, no one would have could noticed but still it was a smile none the less, and in his mind he was lying in a field of grass, as the rain fell gently on his skin._

**********

He sat bolt upright as the phantom pain in his head subsided to a dull throb; unconsciously he reached up with one tan, scar ridden arm to run his fingertips lightly over the webbing of burn and puncture scars, coming away drenched with sweat.  
Ibiki let his arm return to his side, fingertips unconsciously wiping away the sweat on the already damp blanket that had fallen to pool in a dark mass around his waist. He had been in this situation all too many times before to begin to even count. This nightmare had plagued him since he had been eighteen and he was going on twenty-seven now.

The memories of his torture had never failed to plague the subconscious of his dreams at least once a night, and unfortunately it usually lasted most of the night. He turned and looked to read the glowing red neon letters of his alarm clock.

_3:00 am…._

Before he could stop himself he let a huge sigh escape his lips, there was no way in hell he was going back to sleep; not after that. All of the scars currently throbbed in phantom pain at the memory of the nightmare.

Deciding it was futile attempt, Ibiki threw back the covers from his nude form, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and let his bare feet hit the floor. The carpet underneath his feet felt soft and Ibiki was glad he had at least decided against an apartment with wood floors.

Hauling himself out of bed Ibiki walked over to the bathroom and turned the knob to the door letting it swing open. It was pitch black inside a testament to how early it still was. Unlike most people who had to blindly feel for the light switch; Ibiki knew exactly where his was and in no time had found it and flipped the switch.

The bright florescent light lit up instantly bathing the bathroom in a bright glow. Out of all the places in his apartment his bathroom had to be the second largest room in the residence. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling in black marble which gleamed in the bright lighting; with the floor designed in a similar pattern. The sink was also made entirely out of marble, but instead of the glossy black marble it was a gleaming white, heightened to a shimmer by the fluorescent light.

Ibiki walked over to the shower slid back the sliding glass door and turned on the water letting the temperature adjust until it was scalding hot. After his nightmares he always took a shower even though he had showered just a few hours before. He always felt dirty afterward, almost as dirty as when he'd actually been in captivity.

Stepping under the hot spray he both relaxed and tensed at the same time. Relaxed that he could get clean and tense because the hot water burned his skin and sensitive scars, but the hotter the water the cleaner he felt.

While most would relax and let themselves become distracted within the warm waters and steam of a shower, Ibiki stood there ramrod stiff and tense because he was at his most vulnerable. Here he was standing naked and exposed, the physical reminders of his nightmare, written all over his body, a permanent reminder of his weakness.

The scars were now slightly swollen and bright red from the blood brought to the surface by the heat, making them even more apparent. They were apparent in the way he stiffly moved to gather the washcloth and lather it up with soap. They were apparent when he ran the cloth over his body feeling the raised lines of silver skin or rough raised knotted skin. They were apparent when he finally ran the cloth over his hairless scar covered scalp which was riddled with deep puncture scars and a webbing of burn scars he had woken up with instead of his usual short spiky brown tresses, gone to be replaced with them.

He didn't like to think about the time after he had apparently been found by Konoha Anbu nin and brought back barely alive. He had spent the next two months in a coma afterward from all of the massive infections and blood loss, only to wake up disoriented and still in a lot of pain. His entire body was covered in bandages and he was trying to figure out why he was not dead.

Nobody had ever said anything to him or asked him about what had occurred when he had been gone in those months. Life just continued on like nothing had happened, the medic nin had kept him a top priority at the request of Sandaime personally, treating him until he was able to be released on his own. Walking down the streets towards his apartment, he could feel the stares of the villagers on his face; staring at the two long newly scarred over gashes on his face. He had ignored them and carried on like nothing had changed.

The next day instead of resting he had gone back to the Hokage Tower and continued on with his job like normal, the only change was that he had seemed to acquire the skill of gaining information from enemies in half the time it normally took any of the ANBU. It seemed that going through all the torture had paid off in some way, he had become more ruthless, and it became easier ignoring the screams as he mentally tore his captives apart using nothing more than his skill and logic.

This of course had gained the attention of the Hokage and he had been requested to become head of ANBU's Interrogation and Torture. Did he enjoy his job? Truly he didn't know he just went in everyday and did what his village and Hokage asked of him. He oddly felt no honor anymore in being a shinobi just a wary sense of obligation, which everyone expected from him.

He had never tried to recall the events of his torture just merely ignored them until they had slipped into a quiet well hidden spot in his subconscious. He paid for them at night when he fully surrendered to sleep, then like an insidious shadow waiting for its chance; it awoke and trapped him making him relive everything he had gone through, every pain he had ever felt, and all of the humiliation. After nine years he had never really gotten a full night's sleep, he was always tired, but he pushed himself to be flawless all the same or to appear flawless at least.

Turning off the shower Ibiki slid back the glass door; stepped out grabbing the towel off of the rack and wrapped it around his waist. He walked out of the bathroom and into his bedroom heading over to drawer, to pull out his work uniform.

Ibiki pulled out the long gray, button up, high collared shirt with matching with the matching gray pants that cuffed just below the knee, next came the roll of support bandages which was thrown on the bed and last was the hiati-ate(forehead protector) turned bandana that was worn on his head to cover the scars.

After pulling on his clothes and wrapping his calves in the bandages, Ibiki slipped into his sandals and finally secured the bandana/hiati-ate on his head making sure the knot was secure and not likely to fall off. Walking through his apartment he stopped just before making his way out to throw his long black, high collared trench coat ignoring it as it flared out behind him as he made his way out his apartment door and down the stairs, walking towards ANBU building.

Ibiki knew this day was going to be all of the others, receiving a few prisoners to interrogate and working on them until they cracked in record time, Anko annoying the hell out of him as usual, and another day of asking himself why he still cared, why he still did this. Not knowing that a few hours away, there was someone currently making their way through the forest towards the gates of Konoha, who was going to give him the shock of his life and a challenge unlike any he had ever faced.

_** A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I really do apologize for the wait life does get hectic sometimes. And also sorry if the scene with Ibiki was a little too much but hey, torture is never a nice afternoon sitting with a cup of tea and a book. In truth this chapter gave me hell a lot but I did manage to get it done, yay! The next update should be a bit quicker but I am going to have classes all this weekend so I won't start on it until next week; it will be a miracle if this is updated next weekend but I will try my hardest, for you guys.**_

_** -MemoriesOfSin**_


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